Our guest storyteller this month was Dawn Klinge, author, Substack writer, dear friend, and beautiful soul. She described her journey of finding Mama God after outgrowing the story she inherited—in which the only images of God were male. She describes how immersing herself in story and archetypal myths while studying creative writing gave her insight into the ways her worldview was shaped by story. Major life events — the death of her father, a faith community imploding, and witnessing Christians behave in un-Christ-like ways, led her to discover a new, more expansive story to inhabit.
Then we shared our own examples— events in our lives that made our “first story” of God feel too small. Elizabeth Berget shared how the story of a formula that living the “right way” leads to blessing came crashing down when illness arrived inexplicably. Instead of questioning God’s goodness, she began to see how her own experience of motherhood offered a metaphor of a God who tends to us in weakness. Of course we then had to talk about her upcoming book describing more about her journey. I am so excited to have her as our guest storyteller next month!
Colette Eaton dropped another of her brilliant metaphors to describe the way we must make our faith our own during our spiritual journeys. “You don’t move into a house and keep the previous owner’s furniture!” I love her wit, but she’s isn’t just funny, she’s a theological powerhouse. She referenced Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, who said that even though we are limited, we must continue to find ways to engage with the limitlessness of God. Try saying “limitlessness” three times fast!
Another friend shared how her husband started reading aloud to her the New Testament using feminine pronouns. She offered her own reading of John 1 and…just wow. What a powerful practice. For millennia, sacred stories and myths were communicated orally, and our souls are wired to hear it this way. I feel inspired to organize a recording project in which women’s voices read the Bible using feminine pronouns for God. We imagined a collaborative of voices with many accents reading different parts. I really want a voice actor to read John 14 and refer to the Holy Spirit as Mama Spirit. Any good voices out there want to join us?
If this sounds like a conversation you’d enjoy, join us for the next one. Save the Date: September 21. We missed you Anni Ponder!
